Photography | alan frost photography

West Bay – A Dorset fishing harbour

Harbour wall
It was low tide so the full height of the harbour wall was visible. I don’t know how old the harbour wall would be, but for many, many years, the water has risen and fallen with the tide, covering the old ladders, wooden posts and exposed brick and stonework. The buoys and reflections of the wall in the water, together with the wall itself I think make an interesting image.

Fishing harbours are wonderful photographic subjects, where the eye is inevitably is drawn to the fishing boats, clusters of old rope, endless rusty chains, small mountains of lobster pots, and piles of decaying painted wood – the list goes on and on.

Back in December when I visited the fishing village of West Bay on the Dorset coast (now famous as the back drop to the crime series ‘Broadchurch’), I tried as hard as I could to avoid the obvious, which in this type of environment is a rather challenging thing to do. Whether or not I have succeeded is hard for me to judge but whatever the results, I spent a very happy hour or two walking around this most attractive location in relatively warm winter sunshine, with a camera in my hand looking for things to photographic. What could be better?!

Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk

Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk

We are very fortunate in England to have the opportunity to visit some truly wonderful historic buildings, many of which are in the care of The National Trust. One such property is Oxburgh Hall in Norfolk, a 15th Century moated Manor House, built by the Bedingfield family and still occupied by the same family to this very day. As this magnificent building is surrounded by water there are some fine reflections to be enjoyed which always appeal to me from a photographic point of view. In the grounds of the Hall, there is also the Chapel of St Margaret and Our Lady, which dates from the 1830’s and inside there is a very fine framed altarpiece or retable. The Antwerp Triptych is constructed from 16th Century resources and dominates the small chapel and would not look out of place in a much grander Catholic Church or Cathedral.

Displayed below are a selection of images taken during our visit.

What’s in store for 2015?

Old drawers

I came across this wonderful chest of old drawers recently and I started to wonder what each drawer had contained over the years? What secrets and surprises had this piece of furniture been hiding? Once opened of course the ‘magic’ would be gone, although the very act of opening a drawer might be followed by delight or disappointment. A bit like life I guess. None of us know what’s round the corner but there is a sense of anticipation and excitement particularly at this time of year. As we look back on the past 12 months, we reflect on the contents of the ‘drawers’ that have been opened and consider those that are still closed, but may open up and shape our lives in the forthcoming year.

From a purely photographic perspective what happened for me in 2014? Did I fulfil my objectives that I set out for myself a year ago?……and what are my hopes and plans for 2015?